1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to network devices. More specifically, the invention relates to network devices having one or more network ports capable of multiple configurations.
2. Background
Various types of network devices are available for managing, forwarding, and handling data in a network. These network devices include data terminal equipment (DTE), hubs, repeaters, network management units, and other devices capable of being coupled to a network or coupled to another network device. Network devices typically include one or more network ports for transmitting and receiving data. These network ports may be coupled directly to the network or coupled to other network devices.
A network may include multiple network devices capable of controlling other devices in the network. For example, a particular network may include several network hubs coupled to one another. In this example, each hub is capable of communicating with other hubs. Additionally, each hub is capable of communicating with and controlling other network devices coupled to the hub.
In known network devices, a particular port may be designated as either a master port or a slave port (also referred to as a controlled port). For example, a network hub may have multiple ports operating as master ports. These master ports are coupled to controlled ports in various network devices. Thus, the network hub functions to control the network devices coupled to the hub. In these known devices, the port configurations are fixed and cannot be changed without replacing or modifying the port circuitry.
Known network hubs typically have multiple ports for coupling to multiple network devices. In certain situations, a network hub may be used as a control device for multiple network devices. At the same time, the hub may receive control signals from another network device (e.g., a master device). To provide for this situation, known network hubs provide multiple ports, one or more of which are dedicated to coupling a control device. Other ports in the network hub are dedicated to coupling network devices that are controlled by the hub. Since all ports in the network hub have a dedicated configuration, a hub that is used only to control other network devices cannot utilize the ports dedicated to coupling to a control device. Therefore, the hub resources are not fully utilized because the controlled port cannot be used to couple network devices.
It is therefore desirable to provide a network port capable of being configured as either a master port or a controlled port, thereby permitting complete utilization of all network ports in a particular network device.